STORY: Around 156 million Brazilians are asked to elect a new president on Sunday. This ends a long and aggressive election campaign that has divided the country. The polling institutes are predicting a narrow victory for left-wing ex-president Lula da Silva against ultra-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. Lula won the first ballot in early October by a five percent margin, but just missed an absolute majority. In the runoff election this Sunday, the latest polls see Lula with 52 percent of the valid votes and Bolsonaro with 48 percent. Bolsonaro is stronger than expected. Uncertainty about the possible outcome of the election is great. Voices from Rio de Janeiro: “I’m waiting for Lula to win. If it doesn’t happen, I’ll be frustrated, but I think it depends on Lula”. “Everyone is scared, it’s very uncertain who will win. They are very close and we won’t know for sure until Sunday.” “The polls are lies. The poll comes from Sao Paulo, they did it in Lula’s house.” Experts fear that if Bolsonaro is defeated, he will not recognize the election results and that he and his supporters will cause unrest. He had previously expressed public doubts about the security of the electoral system. For the future of the rainforest, the election should be an important step. Deforestation in the Amazon increased sharply under Bolsonaro as President. However, during Lula’s presidency from 2002 to 2010, deforestation decreased significantly.